Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Tell Us Something New

Christopher Hitchens discovers the Israel lobby:

"A few months ago, I wrote that the recent sharp deterioration in Israeli-Turkish relations was at least partially explicable by a single fact: this past March, a key house committee voted to refer to the Turkish massacre of the Armenians in 1915 as genocide. The difference from previous years, I pointed out, was this: until recently, the Israel lobby on the hill had worked to protect Turkey from such condemnation. But after Turkey's Prime Minister and Israel's President had a public quarrel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the lobby was in no mood to do any more favours. In other words, a vote with major implications for US foreign policy - positive ones in my opinion - was determined by the supporters of a single power." (Fuss puts focus on influence of Israel lobby, The Australian/Slate, 9/10/10)

Finds Israel lobbyists somewhat whiffy:

"Self criticism among Jews, on matters of religion and statecraft, is actually rather noticeable. But anyone who has ever had a dispute with some of the spokesmen for the holy state may possibly [!] have detected a whiff of righteousness here and there." (ibid)

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